


Smiles Faded

by Omeg



Category: RWBY
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe, Anti-Faunus Racism (RWBY), Dark Comedy, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Master/Slave, Mutilation, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Non-Sexual Slavery, Slavery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:28:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22724719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omeg/pseuds/Omeg
Summary: The Schnee Dust Company is one of the largest corporations in Remnant, owning thousands of faunus slaves accross multiple continents. But can Weiss Schnee, an heiress to that empire, live with even one slave under her thumb?
Relationships: Ilia Amitola/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 2
Kudos: 29





	1. Arrangements and Assignments

**Author's Note:**

> So, this fic is a thing. I have written several RWBY fanfics already under a different pen name, but this one is different enough from what I usually make that I decided to publish in on a separate account. It's not smut, at least I don't intend it to be right now, but it is going to be heavily relationship-focused, with the plot being highly limited. It's also an AU, with faunus slavery being a thing, but the changes don't go much further than that, so it shouldn't be confusing in any way.
> 
> I chose not to use archive warnings, but as the rating suggest, there will be some mature stuff down there. Dark stuff. If you don't mind that and you are willing to risk experiencing my questionable writing, then I wish you have fun reading.

Being a Schnee wasn't nearly as fun as people thought it was.

It’s not as though Weiss did not want to be a Schnee. It was an indispensable part of who she was and it carried a great legacy with it, not to mention a few perks. The Schnee Dust Company was one of the largest and perhaps the most profitable company in Remnant, owning dozens of mines with countless of slaves working them, employing thousands of people in all fields of business, holding a security force which was essentially a private army, ready to enforce the President’s will. As the daughter of said President, Weiss enjoyed many privileges, as well as a good deal of comfort most people, even in the Kingdom of Atlas for all its wealth, were not able to afford.

But while she wouldn’t necessarily swap places with anyone, there were some serious inconveniences associated with her station.

“Your request is absurd.” Jacques Schnee said dismissively. “I’m sorry Weiss, but you are asking for too much.”

Weiss and her father were sitting in a large room, the office of the president of the largest dust-mining company in Remnant. It was furnished appropriately, with an expensive carpet laying on an ornamented floor and bookcases with fat tomes covering the walls. It wasn’t what one would consider the best place for a child and a parent to talk, but it befitted the Schnee family and its internal coldness in a grim way.

“With all due respect father, I don’t think I do.” Weiss objected, trying to sound polite. “My training would go much faster if I had more space to myself and frankly, I believe we don’t lack resources at the moment.”

“Our manor is large and has several rooms just perfect for combat training.” Weiss’ father shot back. “I’m sure you can find enough space to safely practice.”

It wasn’t that kind of space Weiss needed though. She wanted to get away from the prying eyes of her family members, from the oppressive atmosphere of the icy manor and from not being able to leave or invite people at will. She suspected her father was aware of this, but she obviously couldn’t state that out loud regardless. It wouldn't be a smart negotiating tactic, to say the least.

“Also, I believe you don’t understand the true value of our wealth.” Jacques carried on. “There is an enormous responsibility on our shoulders as the Schnee family. We have to distribute our resources so that our company runs as efficiently as possible, and that means taking care of everything from transport and security to advertisement. We cannot afford to be wanton.”

“But do you really wish me to train in our manor?” Weiss argued. “It wouldn’t do if someone heard me singing out of tune. Reputation is important as well.”

It was a terribly weak argument and Weiss knew that. However, it wasn’t the actual argument she was using. What really mattered was the implication that, given she got what she wanted, she would dedicate herself to singing more than before. That was a wish of her father’s, even if he wouldn’t push for it directly – singing could be used to make money through concerts and such, while Weiss other hobby, that being fighting and hopefully hunting Grimm one day, would only bring profit after she got a huntress license. Which could happen anywhere from five years later to never.

“Renting an auditorium would be cheaper, provided that is your sole reason.” Sadly, her father still didn’t seem convinced. “An apartment in Atlas costs a lot, especially if you wish to hire domestic help.”

“I don’t, actually.” Weiss objected. “I can manage an apartment easily enough.”

Jacques cocked an eyebrow at that.

“Well, maybe not right now.” Weiss conceded. “But I’m pretty sure I can learn the basics…”

“You cannot.” Jacques interjected. “You underestimate how difficult it is to cook properly, all other household duties not included. It takes our slaves weeks to learn how perform even one of these tasks, and they don’t have much else to do but learn.”

His intentions aside, Weiss suspected her father was right in this regard. Cleaning and cooking couldn’t be too hard, but they would still take time to learn, and Weiss’ time was worth a lot. Still…

“That’s why we have slaves to do such things for us.” Weiss replied. “Quite a lot of them, actually. Would it be such a problem to reassign one of the servants from the estate and tell them to watch over my apartment instead?”

“You would leave your house under less care?” Jacques shook his head. “This is simply not proper.”

Weiss barely stopped herself from sighing out loud. If her father was willing to grasp at such straws, there was clearly little chance of ever convincing him. She had half a mind to just walk out at this moment, but she still hoped some sort of a compromise would be negotiated.

“We can acquire new slaves fairly easily.” She argued, even though she didn’t expect much resembling success. “And it’s not like I need a real professional. Any animal smart enough to clean after itself and me would be enough.”

“That is…” Her father paused, as though a thought came to him. “Not a bad idea, actually.”

“Huh?” Weiss couldn’t come up with anything more eloquent at the moment.

“You ask for your own place because you think it would be easier to train there. But perhaps it could be training in itself.”

“In what way?” Weiss cocked an eyebrow.

“I will gift you one of the slaves of ours, but not from the ones employed in the manor or any other domestic ones. Those would be obedient and easy enough to manage thanks to the training they already received. Rather I will give you one of the more problematic ones, either from one of the mines or some other department. I want to see how you deal with having one of those under your roof.”

“You want to know if I can exert control over a slave?” 

“I want to know if you can _manage_ a slave.” Jacques clarified. “If you hope to run the company one day, you have to understand what owning slaves entails. It’s not just about giving orders and punishing disobedience, but also providing these creatures with things they need to survive and making sure they are able to carry out their duties, obedience or not. It is somewhat akin to taking care of a pet, with faunus not being that different to animals when it comes to behaviors.”

“And if I can manage that slave I’m given, I get an apartment with them as a housekeeper?” Weiss sought to clarify.

“Essentially.” Jacques nodded. “You will learn the basics of management through practice, which is the best way anything can be learned. Having company that you can always dismiss as opposed to sitting there all alone will also be good for you, I believe.”

“A faunus for company?” Weiss was skeptical as to the last part.

“You will learn that company you can control is the best kind of company. Or you will not, in which case we will reconsider that arrangement, for the sake of your comfort and happiness.” Weiss’ father smiled, though it didn’t come off as very genuine. “I won’t leave you in a situation you cannot handle, my daughter.”

Weiss pondered that for a second. It seemed as though her father was setting up a challenge for her and that didn’t bode very well… except Weiss didn’t know how she could fail that challenge. She had been giving orders to servants since childhood and while she never had to punish or reward them personally, it couldn’t be that hard where there was only one faunus to take care of.

“I see the wisdom in that.” Weiss nodded. “I accept.”

“Wonderful” Jacques Schnee smiled. This time it seemed genuine, though not exactly warm. “I will hurry to make the arrangements. You will get what you asked for, my dear daughter.”

For some reason, Weiss found herself doubting.

-~O~-

Ilia was cold. 

Logically, that should be the least of her problems. She was locked within a small cage, iron bars making it impossible for her to stand up or lie down fully, so that she was forced to sit curled instead. Her body hurt in multiple places from a multitude of hits she had taken, many of which would not heal easily. Perhaps worst of all, she felt starved – a feeling that would only grow stronger and stronger until hunger finally finished her off, a week or two from now. 

And yet, it was the cold that bothered her the most. Strange.

Maybe she was going insane. It wasn’t unheard of in the mines for a faunus to go insane for one reason or another and Ilia herself felt as though she treaded that line whenever she was in those tight stone tunnels for more than an hour.

That was what she hated the most. Not the awful food, not the exhausting work, not the threat of a violent punishment, none of the indignities she was forced to suffer. Those she was able to get used to, at least to a degree. But the tight spaces never ceased to unnerve her, fear she was forced to face each and every day and that she didn’t think would ever get any weaker. 

Had she been working somewhere else, perhaps Ilia wouldn’t mind enslavement all that much. Perhaps she would even be happy. But she and her family were convicted to the mines, destined to live and die there so that their masters got their steady supply of dust.

For years Ilia had endured, out of simple necessity. A failed attempt at an escape or rebellion would lead to her and likely any loved ones she left behind getting killed or punished in a non-lethal, yet just as severe manner. But when her parents died in an accidents those few earlier, she figured she didn’t have much to lose. It was dying in the mine or risking death for a shot at freedom. 

Fool. Idiot. Stupid animal. She should have found a way to off herself instead of trying something that would certainly grant her a longer death. Even though she had planned her escape in detail and she possessed an advantage of looking mostly like a human, she didn’t get very far before getting caught, beaten and...

Ilia shivered. She wondered if the cold would be enough to quicken her death, to save her from starvation. Probably not, since it wasn’t much colder than normally in the mines, she just lacked the warmth of other bodies nearby. She supposed she could try not to consume any water and let the thirst do the trick, but she knew the temptation would be too strong to resist for long. Maybe where the day’s work began someone would feel merciful enough to kill her, but even that was rather unlikely. She couldn’t even ask anyone to do it, as she now lacked the voice. Or rather she had the voice, but not the ability to make any use of it.

That was a feature of her punishment, one last cruelty forced upon her before getting stuffed into a cage. Her tongue was cut off clean, a procedure sometimes applied as a punishment on its own. In her case, it was so that she wouldn’t bother anyone with pleas of mercy or insults. She could still scream, but screams were a common sound that slaves and guards alike have long learned to tune out.

In a way, she was grateful. She didn’t want to die begging, she still valued dignity at least that much. She made her choice and would take its consequences without pleading her captors for mercy.

It was a small consolation, but she didn’t have any other.

She made yet another attempt to close her eyes and fall asleep, hoping unconsciousness would at least ease her pain. It didn't work, not when she was that uncomfortable, but it would work eventually, once the exhaustion got bad enough. Once she fell asleep it would be like skipping a part of the punishment, getting a little bit closer to the end without having to sit through it. 

Ilia found herself weirded out, maybe amused at how little will to live she had. It was logical to want to die in a situation like this, and yet it somehow felt wrong. She heard all about how instinctual the need to survive was, how people could cling to life even in the worst possible circumstances, so did her desire to die as fast as possible make her weird? But if she wasn't actually going to quicken her demise by not drinking anything, did she actually want to die? Maybe she did, but her body disagreed?

All that thinking got her tired. Which was good. Greater the chance she would fall asleep. In fact, she could feel her eyelids getting somewhat heavier. Thank the gods for small mercies, she supposed…

A sound broke through the silence of the night, heavy footsteps getting louder with each step. Someone was approaching, and given the situation they probably didn’t have the best of intentions. Ilia cursed her luck – just as she was about to fall asleep, a human came to bother her, probably mock her and add yet another insult to injury. 

Soon Ilia was able to see this person emerge from behind a corner, a tall man in a guard uniform, unhappy with his job judging by the tiresome way he carried himself. He approached Ilia’s cage and, to the faunus’ surprise, pulled out a key and opened a lock keeping the crate locked. He then pulled it aside, leaving the cage open.

Ilia stiffened. A part of her wanted to leap out of the cage, take what it perceived as a chance to escape and run as fast as she could. But she knew how unlikely that was to work out, and the sudden development left her too surprised to act anyway. And so Ilia stayed cuddled in her cage.

Not for long. A hand reached for her, grabbed her by the hair and violently pulled her out of the confinement. It hurt quite a bit, and so did the rough landing on the stony ground, but Ilia did feel a bit of relief at finally not having bars pressing on her from each side.

“You got lucky, runaway.” The guard sneered. “Now get up.”

After taking a second to snap out of the shock, Ilia rose up to her feet. Standing up after such a long while made her feel dizzy, but she managed not to fall back down somehow. She then looked at the man before her, expecting... what? Explanation? A punch to the gut? Something in-between? She wasn't sure herself.

“Don’t worry, you’re not going back into that cage.“ The man continued. “You got a new assignment.”

Before she could stop herself, Ilia opened her mouth to ask what this assignment was. When no words came out, she closed her mouth and simply looked at the guard with question in her eyes.

“You’ll find out soon enough.” The guard replied with a shadow of a smile on his face. “Now follow. And don’t try anything funny this time.”

As the uniformed man turned around and made his way forward, Ilia did not follow right away. She hesitated, as the entire situation was confusing to her and there was fear mixed with her surprise.

What assignment could a runaway like her even get? A malnourished, mute faunus wouldn’t be good for even the simplest of tasks, certainly not worth the costs of letting an escaped slave have it so easy. Did the humans figure that working her to death would be a better punishment? Likely not, as it wouldn’t be much of an example for people who were already dying from exhaustion. Or maybe they simply figured out a more gruesome way to deal with her and the ‘assignment’ part was just a cruel joke?

It was possible. Maybe even probable, given how cruel humans had been to her thus far. But she could imagine few things that were actually worse than a slow death by starvation. And on the off chance she wasn’t being deceived and it was actually a chance to get away alive, get away from the mines and all their tunnels and darkness… then it was an opportunity Ilia couldn’t afford to pass up.

Before the guard could tell her off for not moving, Ilia hurried to match his pace. Walking made her feel dizzy once more and her legs barely had the strength to carry her, but she pressed on.

Staying behind was not an option.


	2. First Impression

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter. I had most of it written by the time I published the first one and mostly just had to do the editing. The next chapter will take a longer while to arrive, as only a fraction of it is done as of the time of writing this. For now, here's what I have.

Weiss had completed the third tour of her new apartment. It was pretty small and generally unimpressive compared to the dwellings she was used to, but she figured it would be enough to cover her basic needs.

From the large living room linking everything together one could enter the kitchen with several kinds of cooking devices, bathroom with a small tub and a shower inside and a bedroom with a large bed and a television screen. Then there was a smaller bedroom that could be given to whatever guests came about, the yet empty room that would later serve as a recording studio and a closet in which various utility items would be stored.

Everything in those rooms, as well as the rooms themselves with their walls and wooden doors seemed new and in a good state. If Weiss were to complain about something it would be the impersonal nature of everything around her. She supposed it was only natural, since the apartment hasn’t been personalized for her, but she felt like she could use a painting or two, or even a houseplant to give this place more character.

Overall, Weiss was content with the apartment she received. Not necessarily happy, but content. She half expected her father to put her in some hole with rotten floors as to make this test of his impossible from the start, but it seemed like he did what he could to provide her with decent living and working conditions. There wasn’t much luxury to speak of, but she had everything she was needed and what she was promised.

Well, there was one thing still lacking…

From all the aspects of this arrangement, the part about owning a slave seemed the most suspicious. Weiss wasn’t quite sure why, since there was no place for a trap or even an issue as far as she could see. Unless the slave she was promised was mad or unable to feel pain, they would listen to their new mistress once she explained the consequences of doing otherwise and maybe promised some positive incentive. She wasn’t yet sure what such an incentive would be or what the punishment would be for that matter, but the specifics surely didn’t matter that much.

Weiss was forced out of her musings when the she heard the sound of a ringtone. She didn’t get up immediately, used to servants answering such calls, but she wasn’t dumb and knew that someone had to open the door. When she realized there was no one to do that but here, she sighed and went over to do just that.

Upon unlocking and opening the entrance door, Weiss saw a tall man in an SDC uniform, no doubt an employee of a company. To his belt several items were stripped, including a leathery whip and what looked like a tranquilizer gun. The purpose of those became clear once Weiss noticed the second person – a short girl standing deeper down the corridor, her eyes focused on the ground.

_Delivery is home._

“Salutations, Miss Schnee.” The man said, saluting half-jokingly. “I’m here to deliver the slave as ordered.”

“I see.” Weiss took a step sideways to look at the girl. She wore what looked like a worn out mining suit and large, heavy shoes which have definitely seen better days as well. The suit left her shoulders and most of her legs bare, revealing tanned skin stained with bruises. The girl’s reddish hair was tied up in what could generously be called a ponytail, and yet it still reached her hips rivalling Weiss’ own magnificent hair in length, if not in quality.

In many ways the faunus looked just as Weiss expected. Weak, dirty, not exactly chubby. She just didn’t look, well… like a faunus.

“What kind of faunus is she, exactly?” Weiss asked, figuring that ‘Is she even a faunus’ would be a silly question. Of course the SDC would not enslave humans, not that you could enslave a human as you could a member of an inferior species.

“A fun kind of lizard.” The man replied before turning to the slave. “Give her a show, mutt.”

Weiss wasn’t sure what to expect, but was still taken aback when she saw the girl change color. Smoothly, like a glyph absorbing dust, her skin turned from dark beige to green, until the faunus looked like some bizarre plant wrapped in a piece of black cloth.

Then, a little more abruptly, her skin returned to its original state. It was as though the process took effort, or was in some way unpleasant to the user. Weiss couldn’t say she cared about the slave’s feelings, but the ability did seem interesting.

“Chameleon, then.” Weiss guessed, earning a nod from a delivery man. “Isn’t that a little troublesome? She could pass off as a human if she keeps that… ability inactive.”

“Well she thought she could, but it takes more to be a human than not have a tail.” The man said with a chuckle, causing Weiss to look at him with confusion. “She tried to run away a while ago. Didn’t get very far.” He explained.

“I see.” Weiss replied, weighing the implications in her mind. Father wasn’t joking when he said he wouldn’t send her a well-trained slave. Few of their slaves ever dared to attempt an escape, fewer lived to continue servitude. “Was she punished in any way? She looks too… well…”

“Alive?” The man guessed correctly. “Yeah, she got off easy. We were about to let her starve in a cage as an example, but the boss said to get you someone who’s not worth very much. The worst we did was cut off her tongue.”

Weiss couldn’t help but wince at that. Such a form of mutilation… it wasn’t an unfair punishment for something as serious as running away, but it was still pretty grim to think about. Would she have to apply such heavy punishments as an owner?

No. Such a harsh lesson simply had to stick, it had to discourage the girl from any further disobedience. Weiss would still be forced to punish mistakes and perhaps laziness, but she wouldn’t have to go very far. Hopefully.

“Anything wrong, miss?” The man said, noticing Weiss silence.

“Nothing.” Weiss shook her head, not wishing to share her doubts with anyone. “I’m just wondering if that.. affliction of hers could cause problems.”

“It’s not like she has anything interesting to say.” The man shrugged. “At least she can’t blurt out anything stupid now and get in trouble for it. In that way she was done a favor.” He chuckled at that.

Neither of the girls joined him.

“Is there anything to sign?” Weiss asked, wishing to end the exchange already. “Any formalities to conclude?”

“Everything has been arranged miss. Just keep hold of this.” The man handed Weiss a whip. “It may come in handy at some point.”

“Right.” Weiss replied briefly, hoping she was not, in fact, right. “If that’s all, I bid you good night.”

“Night.” The delivery man replied before turning to the staircase and walking down, his footstep echoing as he left the two girls alone in the corridor.

An awkward silence followed. It embarrassed Weiss greatly, but she wasn’t sure what to say or do at the moment. Could she just order her new slave inside and show her where to sleep? It was an option, but she needed to make a good first impression, good as in one that made her look strong not one that would make her likeable and why was she worrying about it either way…

_Calm down, Weiss. Think logically on what you should do._

It stood to reason that, if Weiss wanted to appear stern or even serious, she should begin by giving the girl some sort of an order. Indeed, there wasn’t much else that could be done, since not ordering the faunus inside would just leave her standing in the corridor with nothing to do. Although there was something she could do before that.

“Take off your shoes.” Weiss said, immediately feeling embarrassed at how stupid those words sounded. There was nothing stupid about the command itself, she wouldn’t let anyone enter her new apartment in dirty shoes it was just… not very impactful for a first order given.

Either way, the faunus girl did not argue. She slipped out of her rather oversized boots and, with a slight wince, stood on the floor barefooted. She seemed shorter now, short even compared to Weiss, not to mention even more defenseless. Weiss supposed it was only appropriate. She would probably have the lizard walk like that, though that mining suit had to make way for something cleaner.

But first things first, Weiss wasn’t sure if her ‘stern first impression’ was stern enough. Maybe it was, but she thought it smarter to err on the side of caution, though she didn’t feel like going all the way to cruelty by performing discipline for no reason. 

What would the father do? It was a weighed question, it was unlikely her father would bother himself with another slave being assigned to the manor. The comparison was rather weak, as this was not the manor and Weiss only had one slave to bother herself with. Still, perhaps an analogy could be made. A standard procedure was to make a health inspection, test whether the slaves were physically fit and healthy. But Weiss did not have any real medical knowledge and even if she had, she did not feel like stripping the faunus naked to carry out necessary procedures. That would be way too awkward.

Weiss realized that the faunus girl was now looking straight at her with grey eyes that expressed worry. The heiress realized that she had been standing silently for nearly a minute and had probably just started blushing for what seemed like no reason.

_Just run with the idea. Tell her to do something strenuous._

“Alright, whatever your name is.” Weiss said loudly and coughed, expecting the girl to introduce herself. At the same instant she realized the obvious and blushed with embarrassment. “I’ll figure something out later. How to call you, that is.” She then coughed again, bidding time. “Well, I want you to… run downstairs and then climb back up as fast as you can. A physique test, of sorts.”

This time the faunus girl hesitated for a moment, for some reason only known to her. It was just a moment though, one not long enough for Weiss to say anything before her slave turned around and began running down the stairs. For a moment, Weiss felt like yelling at her to be careful, but that would contradict the “as fast as you can” command. She didn’t want to appear indecisive.

As she waited, Weiss realized that she had no real way of checking if the order was actually fulfilled, as the girl could just go down a floor, wait there and come back. She couldn’t even listen in for footsteps, as a slim barefoot woman made very little noise. 

Her doubts grew worse as the time went by. The girl would not arrive for a while, suggesting that either she stopped midway through and waited too long for her own good or was just taking her time. Or, as Weiss realized, she saw the situation as the opportunity to run away once more.

Bonkers. If that was the case, should Weiss chase after the faunus? She could probably catch her rather easily, with her aura giving her an edge in every way, but was chasing after some slave really befitting of a Schnee? More practically, Weiss didn’t actually have any way to subdue the girl short of knocking her out, which could result in her getting brain damage or something and how would that look from an outsider’s perspective…

Luckily though, the girl came back. At a rather trudging pace, but still. Weiss was so relieved she actually had to force herself to look stern.

“Care to explain what took you so long?” Weiss asked, crossing her arms.

The faunus girl collapsed to the ground.

Weiss blinked. She wasn’t planning for that. “Are you… are you alright?”

The faunus replied with a simple groan. She looked legitimately unable to move, exhausted as though she just ran a marathon. The fact that such a simple exercise impacted her that badly spoke poorly of her condition... though maybe it wasn’t just running.

“Have you rested recently?” Weiss asked, getting a weak headshake in response. She suddenly felt bad about her attitude thus far, forcing an exhausted young girl to push herself even further for basically no reason. It felt bad to do something like that, even to a faunus. Maybe she could afford to be a bit nicer after all. 

Weiss put away the whip she realized she was still holding in her hand – probably sending too scary of a message – and approached the faunus carefully.

“Can you walk?” She asked, her voice softer now. “I think you will be more comfortable inside.”

Slowly and with some effort, the faunus rose to her feet. For a moment Weiss considered if perhaps the slave was exaggerating her misery, trying to gain some extra sympathy from her new owner. If so, she was doing pretty well, as she looked extraordinarily pitiful. If she kept this appearance up, Weiss could see herself having real trouble being stern when needed.

Brushing these thoughts aside, Weiss led the faunus inside the apartment. Surrounded by clean and fashionable interior, the girl looked somewhat out of place, too cheap or perhaps just too dirty. Weiss made a mental note to make sure the slave got herself cleaned later and to buy her some clothes that would fit her new role better.

But before that, or even before any of them could go to sleep, there was something Weiss felt she needed to do. She walked into what passed for a living room, her slave still following behind her, and headed towards the sofa in the corner. She sat down, shifted in her seat so that she sat both firmly and comfortably, and gestured towards the seat beside her.

The faunus girl stood in place for a second, as if unsure what to do. She then approached the sofa carefully and sat down on the edge of it, as though simply slumping back was dangerous.  
Weiss realized, a moment too late, that slumping or even sitting down should have been dangerous. Slaves were not supposed to sit comfortably when their master was present, though of course they would if ordered to. Telling herself that it didn’t really mattered, Weiss cleared her throat in preparation for a speech she had just prepared.

“It is late, so I shall be brief. I recently found myself in a need of a servant to take care of my apartment, and luckily for you, it turns out you were selected to fill that role. From this day on, you will follow my orders whatever they may be, in return for provisions and accommodation. Well it’s not really an exchange, it’s just that I feel generous enough to feed you and house you. Well I sort of have to do this since I can’t have you starve and freeze to death… but I could do less and I don’t and you better be grateful.”

The faunus stayed dead silent.

“My point is, you don’t have to be afraid of me or anything else as long as you follow my commands.” Weiss carried on. “I will expect you to keep this place clean and to cook the meals, neither of which should be particularly straining. But if you defy me, I will be forced to… hand out discipline. Neither of us will enjoy it, so I suggest you don’t go down that route. Am I clear?”

The girl nodded.

“If there are no que- doubts, then I think we are done here.” Weiss announced, mentally cursing herself for the lack of tact and then cursing herself once more for caring about tact when speaking to a slave. “I will show you where you can sleep and then you may rest until morning. Tomorrow you will start working. Understood?”

To Weiss surprise, the girl shook her head. Slowly, as though she expected a rebuke, but still.

“You mean you don’t understand? It’s simple!”

The girl shook her head once again. She then put a hand on her torso, where her stomach ought to be.

"You are hungry, aren't you?"

The faunus nodded. Then, after a moment's thought, put her hands together as though begging for consideration.

So the girl was not only exhausted, but apparently starved. If father wanted to hinder Weiss by sending the least suited slave in the worst possible state, he did splendid. 

Then again, Weiss would have to feed her slave eventually. She would normally tell the girl to make a meal herself, but she didn't quite trust her with cooking in her current, effete state. With a sigh, Weiss stood up from the couch. "Wait here. I'll bring you something." She said and, without further ado, headed for the kitchen.

Once there, Weiss opened one of the shelves. Luckily for her and even more luckily for the other girl, she had quite the supply of canned food prepared in case she had to resort to the extremes. She certainly wasn't looking forward to eating any of this garbage, but she figured it would make no difference to a hungry faunus. She browsed through the cans and picked up one that looked edible on its own - potato paste or something like that - and carried it back to the living room.

"Here's your food." Weiss threw a can at the faunus, who caught it surprisingly agilely. "Hope it tastes..." Weiss cut off as it became clear that she wasn't being listened to anymore. The lizard girl opened the can, threw out a lid and began eating the inside only using her hands.

Weiss sighed. She had to teach the girl some manners eventually, but right now it was doubtful she even knew how to use cutlery. A lack of proper etiquette could be forgiven... though Weiss was a little worried when she saw the slave cut her finger while trying to pick out the remains of the paste.

Still, they said you should never take animal's food away. Weiss politely waited until the girl was done.. not licking, but rather cleaning up the can and only then coughed to get attention.  
"I'm not going to give you any more food now, for fear of getting you sick. Tomorrow I'll have you making breakfast for us both, so you will get fed provided you do well." The girl didn't seem particularly happy regarding these news, but made no move to protest. "Now come."

Weiss got up again and this time the faunus followed. They walked out of the living room and into the hallway, then towards one of the doors. It was very much non-descriptive, not quite ugly but not pretty either, made from a single piece of wood. The lock was designed so that the door could be closed from the outside, which made it good both for storing things inside the room and the purpose Weiss had in mind. 

"You will sleep here." The heiress announced. "There is a davenport there and a blanket in case it got cold. Which it shouldn't, because the entire place is heated with fire dust. I also brought in a wardrobe just in case you had something to put inside. You should be comfortable here."

The faunus girl peeked inside the room. It was admittedly small but, as Weiss said, it was equipped with all the necessary furniture. Weiss expected some display of gratitude for her efforts, but all she got was a nod of acknowledgement.

Whatever. She was too tired to care.

"I will be getting up half past seven. I expect to see you up by then." Weiss said, turning around to leave. "Goodnight, I suppose."

Weiss felt a tinge of indignation at not getting a reply, even though she knew how stupid that was. Without sparing the slave another look, she headed for her room.  
I think I'm managing this pretty well overall.

-~O~-

Ilia watched the white-haired girl disappear behind the corner. She had already made her mind up about her owner and came to a conclusion she wasn't sure she liked.  
Weiss Schnee was an awful mistress.

She wasn't awful in a 'sadistic overseer' kind of way. She did give Ilia some food right away and promised to keep feeding her in the future, so that was good. She hadn’t handed out any physical punishment as of yet and didn’t seem all that eager to. Even if she got angry enough, she would probably not know No, it was the precise opposite - that girl had clearly no idea what she was doing or what she wanted her new slave to do. 

This ran contrary to Ilia's expectations. As she was led out of the mines, given only the basic summary of what were to happen to her, she had time to form all kinds of predictions as to what the Schnee heiress would to her. The first thought was that she wanted a personal attendant, one of those leeches who suck up to their human masters without doing any actual work. Then her pessimism set in and she decided it was more probable that the Schnee heiress was a sadist who wanted a toy to abuse. If she wanted the other kind of toy, she would probably choose a girl with a bigger bust, assuming she was into girls in the first place. Then even larger pessimism set in and Ilia thought that maybe a Schnee wanted to do some target practice - rumors were she was an aspiring huntress, and perhaps she would view killing a runaway as a perk. 

Turned out the girl had just moved into a new apartment and couldn't be bothered to look after it herself. She likely didn't know how to cook or clean and so wanted a slave to do those things for her. Typical of rich humans and not really a bad thing - otherwise they would probably sent all faunus to mines or fields. Ilia was somewhat glad at being able to work in warmth for once and not have to fear that dust will explode and kill her. Having to deal with an indecisive and kind of a dull mistress wasn't a bad tradeoff.

The problem was, Ilia didn't know how to do these things _either_. She knew how to operate a drill, distill dust and push a cart. And how to sneak around and steal stuff, but that probably wouldn't be seen as a valuable skill. She was perfectly willing to do some work if that meant not going back to the mines, but she wouldn't be able to do much unless she was explicitly told what it was she was supposed to do. And she couldn't ask for instructions because... yeah. She wondered if the Schnee was aware of any of this and whether she planned ahead.  
Whatever. She was too tired to care. Her owner would have to be the one to figure all this out.

She eyed her room once more. It would be a pretty nice place to sleep in, with that mattress and more privacy than most slaves ever had, if not for one simple issue - it was small. The walls were tight, the ceiling was low and there was no window present. Ilia wasn't spoiled, she was just fine sleeping in a room with two dozen other people, but she hated tight spaces. She doubted she would be able to sleep in a closet like that, even with being so tired as she was.

She considered her options. There was little chance she could explain the problem to her merciful mistress, let alone get her to actually do something about it. The faunus would sooner get punished for disturbing her, in whatever way the heiress thought fitting. What that way would be, Ilia did not want to find out.

The little chamber wasn't the only room in the apartment. Ilia could sleep just as comfortably on a couch in the living room, though she didn't know if she would be allowed there. On the other hand, if the alternative was to spend a night awake and end up falling asleep when she ought to be working, the consequences would be equally bad.

But maybe there was a compromise.

Ilia closed the door to the closet and walked out into the hallway. The floor there was adorned by a carpet, one that looked nice but probably wasn't anything super-expensive. Hopefully.

Ilia sat and, after assessing that it was indeed soft enough for her liking, lied down on the carpet. She was technically disobeying her mistress by sleeping in a different place than the one assigned, but Ilia deemed the risk fairly low. Her owner couldn't get seriously angry at something like this and what would see do if she got mad anyway? Hit her few times with a whip she didn't have enough strength to use properly? Lock her in that closet for a day or two? Alright, the latter one sounded quite scary, but it was still a risk she was willing to take. 

She wasn't sure if she was content with her decisions, but she craved rest too much to dwell on it any further. Not that she could refuse it even if she wanted to, as sleep began overtaking her the moment she lied down, forcing her muscles limp. Sighing one last time, Ilia closed her eyes and allowed the sleep to win. As she drifted away, she found herself almost comfortable, laying on the floor in the apartment of a person who could very well make her life a living hell.

At least now she was warm.


End file.
